NEP 2020 aims at raising Gross Enrollment Ratio: AP Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan

Vijayawada: Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan participated in the Fifth Convocation of the Krishna University as Chancellor, in virtual mode from Raj Bhavan on Saturday. Addressing the students, Governor Harichandan said that the present generation of students are fortunate that the 34-year-old education system in the country has undergone a major reform with the introduction of National Educational Policy 2020, from elementary-level education to higher education.

The Governor said that the NEP 2020 is built on the concept of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, with an aim to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society and a global knowledge superpower with holistic, inclusive, flexible, and multi-disciplinary form of education suited to 21st century needs.

He further added that the NEP 2020 aims at increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) from 26.3 per cent to 50 per cent by 2035. National Research Foundation (NRF) to be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education and the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) to be set up as a single overarching body for the entire higher education system in the country, will further strengthen the objectives of NEP 2020, said the Governor.

The Governor said he was happy to learn that the Krishna University has started functioning from its own campus, spread over 103 acre with two administrative and academic blocks located at Rudravaram near Machilipatnam, from January, 2019, and construction of hostel buildings for boys and girls, engineering college and pharmacy college is in progress. He congratulated the students who received their medals for the excellent performance and all the graduate and post graduate students and the research scholars who received their degrees during the Convocation.

Dr G Sateesh Reddy, secretary of the department of defence research and development and chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the chief guest, said that the Indian students should equip themselves to compete at the global level. Prof. N. Balakrishnan, scientist, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has been conferred the Degree of Honoris Causa, during the convocation.

Prof K B Chandra Sekhar, vice-chancellor of the university, presented the medals and the degrees to the students at the convocation. A Shyam Prasad, joint secretary to Governor, Dr Jyotirmayi, head of department of Journalism and Dr Suresh Babu, participated from the Raj Bhavan.